MP’s to Investigate Possible Impacts of Fracking Around Old Coal Workings

MP for North East Derbyshire, Lee Rowley, is to chair an All Party Parliamentary Group on Shale Gas and how the extraction process might impact on former underground mine workings.

Large areas of the coalfields in the East Midlands were deep mined. Some as recently as 5 years ago (Thoresby Colliery) and the workings from Harworth Colliery (1 km from Tinker Lane borehole) in 2002 and 2004. A recent report by Emeritus Professor Peter Styles highlights his concerns around the process and Professor Styles will make a contribution to the hearings.

The Coal Authority have an online interactive map that shows clearly the underground workings that are known, largely from British Coals era, from which the map above has been drawn. The map highlights the extent of the known deep mining undertaken in the area, other earlier works are not documented. It will be interesting to see if the All Party consensus view supports the concerns raised by Professor Styles.